Thelma & Louise

SUCH BADASSES

I've had a post about Thelma & Louise saved in my drafts since January. Around January, I started to get slightly snowed under with uni assignments, and also I'm just a very lazy person, so I never bothered to finish writing the blog post. But hey, it's never too late!

(edit: this post seemed much longer while I was writing it. They'll get longer, don't worry)

While I was walking to the train station this morning, on my way to pick up my laptop from its repair (turns out laptops don't like having pepsi spilled on them, who knew?) The Ballad of Lucy Jordan, by Marianne Faithfull, started playing. The first thing I think of whenever I hear this song is Thelma & Louise, and the simultaneous senses of hopelessness and possibility that both the song and the film evoke.  Bear in mind I'm writing this blog post not having watched the film in about 5 months, so I may be a little rusty, but I have seen it many, many times...

Thelma & Louise is one of my all-time favourite films. This is true for many reasons, not least of which is that it's directed by Ridley Scott, who is one of my absolute favourite directors (I'm a bit of a broken record when it comes to this topic) and, as usual, he takes on a project that many others would produce generic, sub-par drama from and creates a visually stunning, emotionally poignant and timelessly resonating film. The dramatic performances from both Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis (incidentally, both nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for their roles in this film) are incredible; realistic, convincing, funny and emotional all at the same time. And they really sell those southern accents. 

As can be expected with Ridley Scott at the helm- even those who dislike him agree that he emphasises visuals-, Thelma & Louise is visually beautiful. Not as obviously and outrightly stunning, like Prometheus or Blade Runner; if these films are supermodels, Thelma & Louise is the girl-next-door. That convoluted analogy is my way of saying that, out of the mundane American landscape, Scott managed to capture its unlikely beauty, from sweeping shots of oil rigs to tracking shots of a mini aircraft watering a field. His long panoramic sweep of the mountain ranges and desert-like environment really help position both the characters and audience, and makes identifying with the characters easy. 

One thing I really like about Thelma & Louise is its themes and conventions- the two lead characters, both women, play out different roles throughout the course of the movie; they act as mother and daughter, sisters, and the dominance in the relationship switches throughout, which makes for an interesting, varied narrative. Some critics have complained that the film is too harsh on men and portray them stereotypically, which very much feels like a first-world complaint, because these same complaints from women are often ignored and muted. However, I would argue that whilst the majority of the male characters may be unpleasant, they are all examples of the types of people that do exist in the world, and women deal with every day. This film simply sheds light on the world from a female perspective, which I think is very interesting.

I could seriously write forever about this film, but I want to wrap this up fairly soon, before it turns into an essay. I'll finish off by saying that, however much I love the acting and directing, I think my favourite thing about this film is the writing. It would have been very easy to write Thelma and Louise simply as criminals, on the run, in a similar fashion to Bonnie and Clyde, or at least have them lose some sense of morality once they were fugitives. It's true that Thelma carries out armed robbery towards the end of the film, but it's clear that she wouldn't have actually injured anyone, and the only reason she did it at all is because they needed money. It is made clear to the audience that they retain their morals and ethics the entire time, and I think that's admirable. Also, just little things like Louise stepping out of the car at night while Thelma sleeps and just, staring into the starry horizon, reflecting on her life. Little things like that, dotted throughout the film, are what provide its humanity and realism, and what add up to make it one of my favourite films.